Here we are in the middle of the last week in July, the schools have broken up, the sun is temporarily shining and across Europe our counterparts will be shutting up shop and decamping to their holiday homes. In Britain we don’t have that culture but in my world August is a dead month as the decision makers tend to have children and to use this time to take also go away.
Everyone that I seem to speak with mentions how much they are looking forward to the break and blames fatigue as one of the reasons that they’re in the state that they are.
Whether it’s due to the lingering recession, job insecurity, increased workload or other factors entirely, fatigue or job burnout is on the rise around the world.
Neither symptom is simply about being bored or disenchanted with your work. Instead it appears to be the result of prolonged work stress and is characterised by exhaustion, cynicism, a lower sense of accomplishment and severely reduced productivity. It is a widely accepted fact that burnout can also lead to increases in stress hormones, heart disease, and mental health issues like depression. There are plenty of studies on the web about the condition which have found that there are generally three types of burnout: frenetic, under-challenged, and worn-out.
In a recent study in the journal BMC Psychiatry, researchers identified the factors which can contribute to each type of burnout and suggested possible “cures.”
Frenetic burnout
• You work increasingly harder to the point of exhaustion and border on being a workaholic.
• The more hours you work, the more at risk you are of burnout.
• You are extremely involved and ambitious, and overload yourself to fulfil the demands of your job.
• You feel guilt about the idea of not achieving your ambitious goals and are often driven by this guilt.
• The Fix: Work on understanding the cause of your excessive ambition and your guilt, while reducing your personal involvement in work to satisfy personal needs.
Under-challenged burnout
• You have little to motivate you at work, and have to cope with monotonous and unstimulating conditions.
• This type of burnout is more common in men than women and in fields like administration and service personnel.
• You feel indifferent and bored and don’t experience any personal development in your job.
• You feel cynical, because you’ve lost interest in their work.
• The fix: Understand the disenchantment caused by feeling trapped in a job that bores you. Look for ways to renew your interest in your personal development at work.
Worn-out burnout
• You have been in the same organisation for many years – the more you’re there, the greater your risk, but being in one place more than four years can trigger it.
• You give up when faced with stress or lack of gratification.
• You don’t have any control over the results of your work and no recognition, which leads you to neglect your responsibilities.
• You have a somewhat passive coping style and may become less productive, which can lead to feelings of guilt.
• This type of burnout can be buffered if you have a college degree, a stable relationship and children.
• The Fix: Work through your feelings of despair and your passive coping style, and seek out a social support network at work to help you become more motivated.
The summer holiday always acts as a catalyst for individuals to get away from those stresses and strains and to re-evaluate what they want from their career and work life balance. We inevitably see an increase in assignments in the post summer holiday, matched by candidates who are more eager to discuss opportunities than they might have been earlier in the year.
If you’re away over the next few weeks, then I’ll take this opportunity to wish you a happy and relaxing holiday and hope that you return ready to face the autumn with renewed vigour.
However, if you are one of those who has re-evaluated their career options whilst lying on a beach somewhere, then please feel free to contact one of the Directors at http://www.chestertongray.com
Wednesday, 27 July 2011
Wednesday, 20 July 2011
Should I resign?
Most of the time when we meet candidates it is for a specific assignment that we have approached them about, rather than for a “chat” and yet although the majority would ostensibly claim that they are happy in their roles we are surprisingly frequently asked this question. After a little probing it tends to transpire that in fact they’re not very happy in their current job because it doesn't seem like there is much opportunity for movement or promotion at the company.
Whatever you do don't start clearing your desk just yet – at least not before you've fully evaluated your current situation. You should determine if the problem is really with the job and the company or whether there's something else at play such as your energy level or dissatisfaction with other areas of your life.
Changing companies or roles may not be enough to make you happy. There are a number of important questions you'll want to ask yourself. For example: Have you explored all of your options at the company? Have you taken the time to fully evaluate your development and career path with your manager? Could there be other non-work areas affecting your level of engagement and fulfilment? What do you like and not like about your current situation? What do you want in your career moving forward?
Even if you already know the answers to these questions and still feel like you're ready for a move, there's no need to rush. Start by contacting people in your various networks to explore what opportunities exist and consider making a strategic move. If you want to explore another kind of work, it may be wise to stay put for a time while you evaluate your next steps.
It is equally important to evaluate what you can offer a new company. Take a hard look at your “brand”, professional reputation and any other qualities and skills you bring to the job. If you can, forget for a moment that you are a company employee and instead picture yourself as a "business-of-one,” Businesses who decide to 'fire' a client that gives them the majority of their income must make sure they have a strong brand or reputation they can market, know their ideal target audience and the best way to reach them, and be certain there is enough of a demand for their services.
Now you should identify at least 25 companies where you would want to work and ensure that they employ people with your types of skills. Then you should try to network with individuals who have been hired at these companies to see if they can shed some light on what is valued by the organisation and the best way to get considered for a position. Networking often leads to learning about 'unpublished' jobs. If you can't or are unwilling to do these steps, then you're not ready to move on. Over the years most of us here have seen too many people jump out of a bad job and into a worse one.
Naturally we would very seldom advise any candidate to resign without having a new role to go to, unless there were significant mitigating circumstances.
If you would like to chat over your career options then please feel free to contact one of the team at www.chestertongray.com
Whatever you do don't start clearing your desk just yet – at least not before you've fully evaluated your current situation. You should determine if the problem is really with the job and the company or whether there's something else at play such as your energy level or dissatisfaction with other areas of your life.
Changing companies or roles may not be enough to make you happy. There are a number of important questions you'll want to ask yourself. For example: Have you explored all of your options at the company? Have you taken the time to fully evaluate your development and career path with your manager? Could there be other non-work areas affecting your level of engagement and fulfilment? What do you like and not like about your current situation? What do you want in your career moving forward?
Even if you already know the answers to these questions and still feel like you're ready for a move, there's no need to rush. Start by contacting people in your various networks to explore what opportunities exist and consider making a strategic move. If you want to explore another kind of work, it may be wise to stay put for a time while you evaluate your next steps.
It is equally important to evaluate what you can offer a new company. Take a hard look at your “brand”, professional reputation and any other qualities and skills you bring to the job. If you can, forget for a moment that you are a company employee and instead picture yourself as a "business-of-one,” Businesses who decide to 'fire' a client that gives them the majority of their income must make sure they have a strong brand or reputation they can market, know their ideal target audience and the best way to reach them, and be certain there is enough of a demand for their services.
Now you should identify at least 25 companies where you would want to work and ensure that they employ people with your types of skills. Then you should try to network with individuals who have been hired at these companies to see if they can shed some light on what is valued by the organisation and the best way to get considered for a position. Networking often leads to learning about 'unpublished' jobs. If you can't or are unwilling to do these steps, then you're not ready to move on. Over the years most of us here have seen too many people jump out of a bad job and into a worse one.
Naturally we would very seldom advise any candidate to resign without having a new role to go to, unless there were significant mitigating circumstances.
If you would like to chat over your career options then please feel free to contact one of the team at www.chestertongray.com
Thursday, 30 June 2011
Write a Covering Letter that Gets Noticed
The subject of this blog isn’t new and it follows on from my last one about how to speed up your job search. And what I’m about to say has been said many times before, but as ever it all bears repeating. Most of our team who sift through covering letters all agree that far too many are just boring, vague or ineffective. Those go straight into the bin.
So what does a covering letter need to get noticed? Here are 8 tips from the team:
1. Sell yourself. A covering letter is a sales pitch. All of us who believe in something important are selling – be it a proposition, an idea, or maybe ourselves. This, by the way, doesn’t mean you steal credit–just that you emphasise your achievements.
2. Demonstrate interest in the job. Sounds obvious doesn’t it? But so many people don’t bother to do homework on either the company or the role for which they are applying. Reference something about what you have learned in your covering letter. This is where you can tailor the needs of the company/role to the expertise that you offer.
3. Address it to the right person! Every day we receive covering letters addressed to the wrong person and even to people who don’t work for our firm. The letter has been cut & pasted from one to someone else in a different firm. Sloppy and insulting.
4. Be declarative. A good covering letter is a page. Get to the point quickly, telling us what you’ve accomplished. “This is what I have accomplished…”
5. Omit the conditional. Avoid statements such as, “As conditions warranted..,” or “Given the circumstances…” Conditionals detract from the power of your message. Drop them.
6. Avoid the passive voice. Using the passive voice makes you sound like a bystander. Instead of “Our effort was led by me,” write, “I led our effort.” Remember, you are the initiator.
7. Proof it. Take it from us: don’t click send until you have a trusted friend or your spouse read your letter several times to check for clarity – did you mean to say that? — and typos – Oops!
8. Be humble. This is a caveat to the first item on this list. You are pitching yourself but remember that as a leader you achieve good results through the efforts of others. It is always good to mention how you work well with and through others.
Good luck and good letter writing. Your next job may depend upon it… but of course you already know that. If you would like to discuss how to write a CV or covering letter, please feel free to contact one of the team at www.chestertongray.com
So what does a covering letter need to get noticed? Here are 8 tips from the team:
1. Sell yourself. A covering letter is a sales pitch. All of us who believe in something important are selling – be it a proposition, an idea, or maybe ourselves. This, by the way, doesn’t mean you steal credit–just that you emphasise your achievements.
2. Demonstrate interest in the job. Sounds obvious doesn’t it? But so many people don’t bother to do homework on either the company or the role for which they are applying. Reference something about what you have learned in your covering letter. This is where you can tailor the needs of the company/role to the expertise that you offer.
3. Address it to the right person! Every day we receive covering letters addressed to the wrong person and even to people who don’t work for our firm. The letter has been cut & pasted from one to someone else in a different firm. Sloppy and insulting.
4. Be declarative. A good covering letter is a page. Get to the point quickly, telling us what you’ve accomplished. “This is what I have accomplished…”
5. Omit the conditional. Avoid statements such as, “As conditions warranted..,” or “Given the circumstances…” Conditionals detract from the power of your message. Drop them.
6. Avoid the passive voice. Using the passive voice makes you sound like a bystander. Instead of “Our effort was led by me,” write, “I led our effort.” Remember, you are the initiator.
7. Proof it. Take it from us: don’t click send until you have a trusted friend or your spouse read your letter several times to check for clarity – did you mean to say that? — and typos – Oops!
8. Be humble. This is a caveat to the first item on this list. You are pitching yourself but remember that as a leader you achieve good results through the efforts of others. It is always good to mention how you work well with and through others.
Good luck and good letter writing. Your next job may depend upon it… but of course you already know that. If you would like to discuss how to write a CV or covering letter, please feel free to contact one of the team at www.chestertongray.com
Tuesday, 21 June 2011
7 Ways to Speed Up Your Job Search
I’ve been in recruitment now for more years than I care to remember and try not to admit to, and I never cease to be surprised by how many times my colleagues and I are still asked many of the same questions that we were asked fifteen or more years ago. Sure, technology has moved many of the processes on and has eased the application process but there are still many of the same issues that candidates face.
So, not only is the job search often frustrating, but it also becomes intensely time consuming. Many candidates who are out of work end up looking for several months before an interview opportunity finally materialises.
How can you speed up the process and land your ideal job in less time? Here are a few ways that my colleagues and I believe that candidates can speed up their job search:
• Use trusted job search engines and networking sites. Looking for opportunities via job aggregators can lead you to postings by the actual company and not a third party. You can also sign up for alerts so you don’t miss any important opportunities. Many networking sites work the same way—someone who works for the company (or knows someone who does) often posts the job opportunity in a group or on a message board.
• Start blogging regularly. Creating and maintaining a blog helps to position yourself as a thought leader in your industry. It’s also a great way to increase your visibility and broaden your network.
• Increase your visibility online and offline. There are many things you can be doing to increase your visibility. Blogging, mentioned above, is a prime example. You should also consider attending networking events, conferences, association meetings, Twitter chats, workshops, and webinars. All of these can help you gain more skills and knowledge about your field while meeting people who may be able to help boost your job search.
• Talk with a career coach. A lot of people are unsure of how to properly go about job searching—and it’s no surprise, as many of us were never formally taught how to job search. A career coach can help you navigate the world of the job hunt and give you tips and advice on how to market yourself properly. If you’re unsure of what makes you unique among the other candidates, they can help you identify that as well. We have many close links with coaches who have helped candidates reappraise themselves and move from a trough of inactivity to a successful interview. Talking of which….
• Be well prepared for your interview. In this tough job market, one of the worst things you can do to yourself is get an interview and show up unprepared. You need to know how you’ll answer the traditional interview questions and what experiences you want to highlight for the hiring manager in your answers. You also need to know as much as possible about the company, its culture, and how you’ll fit into it all.
• Volunteer your time at a local non-profit organisation. Volunteering is a great way to fill gaps in your resume, gain valuable skills, and meet new people. It’s also fulfilling to be using your skills to help a local community group and a great way to keep busy while job hunting.
• Optimise your CV and online profiles. Keywords are an essential part of the job search today. Recruiters like us and hiring managers are looking for a specific candidate and often find that person through searching several keywords or key phrases. These are often shared in the job description—so make sure that your online profiles and resume align with the job you’re applying for.
Keep your CV short, that’s ideally three pages or less, and pertinent. Despite the many articles out there on how to write a CV we still receive many that are well over ten pages and I’m afraid that most are dropped straight into the on-line re-cycle bin because we receive over 250 CV’s a week and simply don’t have time to read that much information and do the rest of our assignment tasks!
If you apply these basic principles when you are looking for a new job, then you will significantly improve your prospects. We can offer further tips and guidance to candidates on their job search so please feel free to call me or my colleagues for an informal discussion.
So, not only is the job search often frustrating, but it also becomes intensely time consuming. Many candidates who are out of work end up looking for several months before an interview opportunity finally materialises.
How can you speed up the process and land your ideal job in less time? Here are a few ways that my colleagues and I believe that candidates can speed up their job search:
• Use trusted job search engines and networking sites. Looking for opportunities via job aggregators can lead you to postings by the actual company and not a third party. You can also sign up for alerts so you don’t miss any important opportunities. Many networking sites work the same way—someone who works for the company (or knows someone who does) often posts the job opportunity in a group or on a message board.
• Start blogging regularly. Creating and maintaining a blog helps to position yourself as a thought leader in your industry. It’s also a great way to increase your visibility and broaden your network.
• Increase your visibility online and offline. There are many things you can be doing to increase your visibility. Blogging, mentioned above, is a prime example. You should also consider attending networking events, conferences, association meetings, Twitter chats, workshops, and webinars. All of these can help you gain more skills and knowledge about your field while meeting people who may be able to help boost your job search.
• Talk with a career coach. A lot of people are unsure of how to properly go about job searching—and it’s no surprise, as many of us were never formally taught how to job search. A career coach can help you navigate the world of the job hunt and give you tips and advice on how to market yourself properly. If you’re unsure of what makes you unique among the other candidates, they can help you identify that as well. We have many close links with coaches who have helped candidates reappraise themselves and move from a trough of inactivity to a successful interview. Talking of which….
• Be well prepared for your interview. In this tough job market, one of the worst things you can do to yourself is get an interview and show up unprepared. You need to know how you’ll answer the traditional interview questions and what experiences you want to highlight for the hiring manager in your answers. You also need to know as much as possible about the company, its culture, and how you’ll fit into it all.
• Volunteer your time at a local non-profit organisation. Volunteering is a great way to fill gaps in your resume, gain valuable skills, and meet new people. It’s also fulfilling to be using your skills to help a local community group and a great way to keep busy while job hunting.
• Optimise your CV and online profiles. Keywords are an essential part of the job search today. Recruiters like us and hiring managers are looking for a specific candidate and often find that person through searching several keywords or key phrases. These are often shared in the job description—so make sure that your online profiles and resume align with the job you’re applying for.
Keep your CV short, that’s ideally three pages or less, and pertinent. Despite the many articles out there on how to write a CV we still receive many that are well over ten pages and I’m afraid that most are dropped straight into the on-line re-cycle bin because we receive over 250 CV’s a week and simply don’t have time to read that much information and do the rest of our assignment tasks!
If you apply these basic principles when you are looking for a new job, then you will significantly improve your prospects. We can offer further tips and guidance to candidates on their job search so please feel free to call me or my colleagues for an informal discussion.
Thursday, 9 June 2011
The Easiest Way to Get a Raise and Promotion
If, for some reason, you need any urging to become more aggressive about your career and financial future, a recent study from Accenture should provide it. The study was designed to figure out how satisfied men and women are at their jobs, and what they plan to do about it. But buried within the results are some eye-opening statistics about who gets a pay rise or promotion–and why.
Accenture surveyed 3,400 professionals at medium and large-sized companies in 29 countries. Some 500 of those people were in the U.S. Respondents were split evenly between men and women and between three age groups: Generation Y, Generation X, and Baby Boomers.
According to the survey, only 43% of people are satisfied with their jobs. Why are the rest so glum? The leading reason, cited by 45 percent of people overall but by 52 percent of those in Generation Y, is that they’re underpaid. That’s not completely shocking, given that the survey also found that in the U.S., only 44% of women and 48% of men say they have ever asked for or negotiated a pay increase.
What happens when people do ask for a rise? In the overwhelming majority of cases, people who ask for a rise are at least thrown a bone. And in a significant number of cases, employees who do ask for a pay rise actually get more money than they were expecting.
Here’s how it breaks down:
• Some 25% of people said they got more money than they were expecting
• An additional 38% said they got the rise that they were expecting
• 17% got more money, but not as much as they were hoping for
• 5% did not get a rise, but they did get some other type of incentive
• Only 15% got nothing
To summarise that: Of those who asked for a raise, 85% at least got something. Some 63% got at least as much as they asked for.
So why don’t more people ask?
Another big reason people said they were dissatisfied with their jobs was lack of opportunity for growth, mentioned by 34% of people. (Another 25% said they were tired or burned out, which should be its own wake-up call to employers.)
Yet only 28% of U.S. women say they have ever asked for a promotion and only 39% of men have asked either. Of course, there are cases where employees badger for a well-deserved promotion for years and never get anything. But perhaps more often, people who believe they are underappreciated or stuck in their jobs should just ask for the job they want.
According to the report, here’s what happened to those who did ask for a promotion:
• 17% got a new role, and it was a better one than they’d hoped to land
• 42% got the role they asked for.
In other words, 59% of people who asked for a promotion got one. Things didn’t go badly for the other 41%, either:
• 10% got a new role, but not the one they asked for, and not one that was a clear promotion
• 10% of the time, nothing happened.
• 5% of those who asked for a promotion got new responsibilities instead. Even that’s not so bad. While it may sound like these people just got more work dumped on them, among U.S. survey respondents, 47% of people said that taking on new responsibilities had helped move their career forward.
I think that it would be an interesting comparison if Accenture carried out the same survey in the UK and whether the percentages would be similar.
When we interview candidates one of the things that we are always looking for is whether their motive is simply to get a job offer and then go back to their own company and to use it as a bargaining tool, so if you look at it from our perspective it would make our life easier if candidates took the initiative and asked for a promotion or a pay rise.
Fortunately we have very rarely been through the offer as a bargaining tool scenario, but if you’ve never asked for a promotion or a rise, why not?
Accenture surveyed 3,400 professionals at medium and large-sized companies in 29 countries. Some 500 of those people were in the U.S. Respondents were split evenly between men and women and between three age groups: Generation Y, Generation X, and Baby Boomers.
According to the survey, only 43% of people are satisfied with their jobs. Why are the rest so glum? The leading reason, cited by 45 percent of people overall but by 52 percent of those in Generation Y, is that they’re underpaid. That’s not completely shocking, given that the survey also found that in the U.S., only 44% of women and 48% of men say they have ever asked for or negotiated a pay increase.
What happens when people do ask for a rise? In the overwhelming majority of cases, people who ask for a rise are at least thrown a bone. And in a significant number of cases, employees who do ask for a pay rise actually get more money than they were expecting.
Here’s how it breaks down:
• Some 25% of people said they got more money than they were expecting
• An additional 38% said they got the rise that they were expecting
• 17% got more money, but not as much as they were hoping for
• 5% did not get a rise, but they did get some other type of incentive
• Only 15% got nothing
To summarise that: Of those who asked for a raise, 85% at least got something. Some 63% got at least as much as they asked for.
So why don’t more people ask?
Another big reason people said they were dissatisfied with their jobs was lack of opportunity for growth, mentioned by 34% of people. (Another 25% said they were tired or burned out, which should be its own wake-up call to employers.)
Yet only 28% of U.S. women say they have ever asked for a promotion and only 39% of men have asked either. Of course, there are cases where employees badger for a well-deserved promotion for years and never get anything. But perhaps more often, people who believe they are underappreciated or stuck in their jobs should just ask for the job they want.
According to the report, here’s what happened to those who did ask for a promotion:
• 17% got a new role, and it was a better one than they’d hoped to land
• 42% got the role they asked for.
In other words, 59% of people who asked for a promotion got one. Things didn’t go badly for the other 41%, either:
• 10% got a new role, but not the one they asked for, and not one that was a clear promotion
• 10% of the time, nothing happened.
• 5% of those who asked for a promotion got new responsibilities instead. Even that’s not so bad. While it may sound like these people just got more work dumped on them, among U.S. survey respondents, 47% of people said that taking on new responsibilities had helped move their career forward.
I think that it would be an interesting comparison if Accenture carried out the same survey in the UK and whether the percentages would be similar.
When we interview candidates one of the things that we are always looking for is whether their motive is simply to get a job offer and then go back to their own company and to use it as a bargaining tool, so if you look at it from our perspective it would make our life easier if candidates took the initiative and asked for a promotion or a pay rise.
Fortunately we have very rarely been through the offer as a bargaining tool scenario, but if you’ve never asked for a promotion or a rise, why not?
Thursday, 19 May 2011
What to do if you are fired.
At some point in there lives, almost everyone faces career reversals, and some of the most famous and successful business leaders have been fired. I’m sure that there were good reasons why it happened from the company’s perspective, and whether you thought that it was the right decision wasn’t going to change their decision; life is not always fair. Your success after a career reversal depends on your resilience and what you do after losing your job. It’s happened to me and I was devastated when it did, but I learnt a few things from it.
Forget about Shame
It’s natural to feel embarrassed when you get fired, and to withdraw and not tell people what happened. Bad move. First of all, if you don’t tell your version of what happened, others probably will – and seldom to your benefit. Second, if you feel ashamed, you are unlikely to present yourself to others with much confidence, and this absence of confidence will make landing your next position more difficult. And third, it will affect your “social influence.” People look to others to figure out how to interpret and react to ambiguous social situations. If you’re embarrassed, that feeling will emanate from you either in your voice, your language or your behaviour. People will suspect that if you’re ashamed, maybe you have something to be ashamed about, in which case they might not offer you the support that you need.
Tell Your Story
On the other hand, openly telling others what happened conveys that it is not such a big deal and that rather than being ashamed, it is the boss and organisation that fired you that maybe ought to feel badly. By admitting what happened, you can ask for help and convey that you’re going to be successful again. Others will rally to your side because people love to associate with success and they particularly enjoy associating with successful people who have surmounted adversity.
Not everyone who is fired will land a good job instantaneously. But your chances of bouncing back quickly are greatly enhanced by conveying to others that the loss of your position was the company’s mistake, not yours, and emotionally relieving yourself of guilt and shame so you can strategically and confidently go about continuing to build your career.
I was given this advice when it happened to me many many years ago and it is difficult advice to follow, but in many instances, will lead to a much better result and more importantly a boost to your own self confidence.
Forget about Shame
It’s natural to feel embarrassed when you get fired, and to withdraw and not tell people what happened. Bad move. First of all, if you don’t tell your version of what happened, others probably will – and seldom to your benefit. Second, if you feel ashamed, you are unlikely to present yourself to others with much confidence, and this absence of confidence will make landing your next position more difficult. And third, it will affect your “social influence.” People look to others to figure out how to interpret and react to ambiguous social situations. If you’re embarrassed, that feeling will emanate from you either in your voice, your language or your behaviour. People will suspect that if you’re ashamed, maybe you have something to be ashamed about, in which case they might not offer you the support that you need.
Tell Your Story
On the other hand, openly telling others what happened conveys that it is not such a big deal and that rather than being ashamed, it is the boss and organisation that fired you that maybe ought to feel badly. By admitting what happened, you can ask for help and convey that you’re going to be successful again. Others will rally to your side because people love to associate with success and they particularly enjoy associating with successful people who have surmounted adversity.
Not everyone who is fired will land a good job instantaneously. But your chances of bouncing back quickly are greatly enhanced by conveying to others that the loss of your position was the company’s mistake, not yours, and emotionally relieving yourself of guilt and shame so you can strategically and confidently go about continuing to build your career.
I was given this advice when it happened to me many many years ago and it is difficult advice to follow, but in many instances, will lead to a much better result and more importantly a boost to your own self confidence.
Thursday, 12 May 2011
Multitasking
It’s a never ending paper trail, when a report or study comes out, somebody at a reputable publication picks it up, and the next thing you know, generalisations that were never intended by the researchers are plastered all over the internet.
That’s exactly what’s happened recently with multitasking.
Just check out some of these headlines: How and Why to Stop Multitasking, The Myth of Multitasking, The Backlash Against Multitasking, How to Kick the Multitasking Addiction, Multitasking Produces an Illusion of Competence … these are real and are everywhere!
The problem is that most of that “multitasking is evil” stuff is more or less irrelevant. Yes, you’ll perform better giving one thing your undivided attention. Sure, if you text or email during a meeting, you’ll miss some things.
The truth is that, when you define multitasking in the way virtually all professionals, managers, business leaders, and executives do it, and look at its overall effectiveness for a management system or organization as a whole - instead of at the task level - you find that it’s indeed critical to management effectiveness. It’s a no-brainer.
So, to unravel the quagmire of misconceptions, misinformation, and confusion and set the record straight, here are a few alternative thoughts:
• Yes, single task performance deteriorates when you’re distracted. People perform better doing one task at a time. Anybody who thinks that’s an epiphany shouldn’t be responsible for anything let alone managing others.
• Interrupting what you’re doing to constantly check email isn’t multitasking, it’s distraction, plain and simple. Employees or managers who call that multitasking are just trying to make themselves look better in spite of their complete lack of discipline and inability to focus.
• There is no such thing as doing more than one thing simultaneously. It can’t happen in the physical world. Nobody can do it. Not even computers. There are laws of physics that frown upon that sort of thing.
• In the real management world, the only definition of multitasking that matters is the concept of switching between tasks or interrupting one task in favour of another. It’s how we prioritise functions and tasks in real-time. It’s necessary and critical to the performance of any management or organisational system.
• Indeed, on a task by task basis, multitasking is not a benefit. And yes, it is more stressful than not multitasking. That said, it’s a daily part of business life. Things happen. Priorities change. Something crops up that is more important than what you’re working on. The task at hand will suffer, but your overall management effectiveness will benefit. Real-time flexibility - interruption and prioritisation - is critical in management systems.
• Information or communication overload and multitasking are two completely different things. McKinsey wrote a report about information overload that says, “Always-on, multitasking work environments are killing productivity, dampening creativity, and making us unhappy.” The problem is that, by lumping communication overload - a bad thing - in with management multitasking - a good thing - McKinsey is confusing people.
• If you email or text while you’re in a meeting, you can’t possibly be paying attention. Things have to be repeated and that wastes everybody’s time.
• Likewise, when you’re meeting one-on-one or in a small group, you should give them your undivided attention. Not only is that more efficient for everyone, it’s called treating people with respect.
The truth of the matter is that Doctors, chefs, engineers, project managers, marketers, salespeople, line managers, executives, small business owners - anyone with decision-making, managing, or leadership in their job description needs to multitask. It comes with the territory. It’s part of business and management life. Don’t confuse it with single-task performance, communication overload, or distraction and lack of concentration.
That’s exactly what’s happened recently with multitasking.
Just check out some of these headlines: How and Why to Stop Multitasking, The Myth of Multitasking, The Backlash Against Multitasking, How to Kick the Multitasking Addiction, Multitasking Produces an Illusion of Competence … these are real and are everywhere!
The problem is that most of that “multitasking is evil” stuff is more or less irrelevant. Yes, you’ll perform better giving one thing your undivided attention. Sure, if you text or email during a meeting, you’ll miss some things.
The truth is that, when you define multitasking in the way virtually all professionals, managers, business leaders, and executives do it, and look at its overall effectiveness for a management system or organization as a whole - instead of at the task level - you find that it’s indeed critical to management effectiveness. It’s a no-brainer.
So, to unravel the quagmire of misconceptions, misinformation, and confusion and set the record straight, here are a few alternative thoughts:
• Yes, single task performance deteriorates when you’re distracted. People perform better doing one task at a time. Anybody who thinks that’s an epiphany shouldn’t be responsible for anything let alone managing others.
• Interrupting what you’re doing to constantly check email isn’t multitasking, it’s distraction, plain and simple. Employees or managers who call that multitasking are just trying to make themselves look better in spite of their complete lack of discipline and inability to focus.
• There is no such thing as doing more than one thing simultaneously. It can’t happen in the physical world. Nobody can do it. Not even computers. There are laws of physics that frown upon that sort of thing.
• In the real management world, the only definition of multitasking that matters is the concept of switching between tasks or interrupting one task in favour of another. It’s how we prioritise functions and tasks in real-time. It’s necessary and critical to the performance of any management or organisational system.
• Indeed, on a task by task basis, multitasking is not a benefit. And yes, it is more stressful than not multitasking. That said, it’s a daily part of business life. Things happen. Priorities change. Something crops up that is more important than what you’re working on. The task at hand will suffer, but your overall management effectiveness will benefit. Real-time flexibility - interruption and prioritisation - is critical in management systems.
• Information or communication overload and multitasking are two completely different things. McKinsey wrote a report about information overload that says, “Always-on, multitasking work environments are killing productivity, dampening creativity, and making us unhappy.” The problem is that, by lumping communication overload - a bad thing - in with management multitasking - a good thing - McKinsey is confusing people.
• If you email or text while you’re in a meeting, you can’t possibly be paying attention. Things have to be repeated and that wastes everybody’s time.
• Likewise, when you’re meeting one-on-one or in a small group, you should give them your undivided attention. Not only is that more efficient for everyone, it’s called treating people with respect.
The truth of the matter is that Doctors, chefs, engineers, project managers, marketers, salespeople, line managers, executives, small business owners - anyone with decision-making, managing, or leadership in their job description needs to multitask. It comes with the territory. It’s part of business and management life. Don’t confuse it with single-task performance, communication overload, or distraction and lack of concentration.
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